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Michael came to art mid-life.
He has been self-employed his entire life.
His first love was surfing.
He made his very first surfboard in 1966.
Marrying and becoming a father in 1970 caused him to be in business truly.
He opened, ‘The Surf Shop” in Ventura California,
Shaping and glassing his ‘Natural Motion’, and ‘Pure Fun Flyers’ Surfboards.
The fiberglassing part of making a surfboard, led him to welding and create
Blue Pacific Welding, a portable certified welding service,
working on steel buildings and oil company pipelines.
He added a General Building ’B’ License to his General Engineering ‘ A’ License,
to design and build acreage view homes in SLO County
and Arroyo Grande CA.
He developed a lemon grove into a custom home subdivision named
‘ Citrus Heights.’
Designing and building his family’s home twice,
the second at the top of a local hill on a 300’ cliff with forever valley and ocean views.
He achieved the American Dream.
Living at that Pinnacle in his early 40s
gave him the vistas to assess the valleys he had passed through and the hills he had climbed.
He woke up from the successful American Dream.
Jettisoning the entire world he had spent two and a half decades building
to create his own dreams.
In the ensuing quietness. He heard new voices, whispered at first, then loader and loader.
The first voice said Paint.
He gathered the materials and began painting.
The next voice said, Act.
He went to San Luis Obispo’s Little Theatre,
took acting workshops, learning stagecraft, set design/build, and lighting.
Walking the boards he eventually starred in a play.
It was off to Hollywood and a SAG Card.
Then to live as an artist and sell his work he became,
‘dwellinart’ The Michael Ackerman Studio
in San Luis Obispos Creamery,
then dwellinart on Garden St. and dwellinart on Higuera St.
His art life, helping others be more fully self-expressed, via art
led him to found the non-profit organization
Learn more about Michael
The workshops began when,
Pete, one of his new actor friends saw how painting was helping him.
Pete asked Michael to teach him.
Michael used techniques he had learned leading Encounter Groups in the 70s,
as well as his life long experience stepping into the unknown,
trusting his ability to create himself there
and thrive.
their low self-esteem,
to create something tangible and real
about who they are.
Experiencing what it feels like to be fully self-expressed.
A taste of Full Self-Expression
Self-Actualization
I learned to be fearless in the unknown,
from my father,
Merle.
I learned to be loving and kind,
from my mother,
Norma.
I learned to be who I am,
from my grandfather,
Fred.
As I grew.
I learned how to:
Thrive in the unknown,
Be comfortable in my own skin.
Be loving and kind to myself, and then to others.
My Trials, Tribulations, and Victories,
taught me,
to accept I possess every Human Quality,
and
how to use each one
in the light and the dark
as needed.
I know:
Living in the here and now
keeps me,
true to myself, in constant Bliss,
connected to individuals, and the cosmos in consistent Happiness.
Looking back over my entire life
I understand,
All I accomplished or ever will, is rooted in those gifts,
as well as mentors along the way.
I jettisoned one persona after another for another two and a half decades,
giving ‘Body Time’ freely to unlived parts of myself,
cross-pollinating my personas,
to explore new selves,
new worlds.
Now,
I am giving ‘Body Time, Simultaneously
To every persona I have been,
And whoever shows up.
Why?
I’m curious about what flows in and will be created,
that benefits me,
And You!